


Koganegawa's Senpai

by Amoralyn



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Senpai Notice Me, Senpai-Kouhai Relationship, Tutoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-14 18:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3421442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amoralyn/pseuds/Amoralyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Koganegawa Kanji has a problem. He needs to improve his grades, or he’s at risk for being thrown off the volleyball team! So, when you offer to be his tutor, he jumps at the chance. And from the first moment you two met, nothing would ever be the same. A birthday gift for my wonderful friend Mary, in the hopes that she may enjoy this story even a sliver of how much enjoyment and happiness she gives and inspires in all her friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Big Setter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shoucheeky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shoucheeky/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Mary! Sorry I can’t give you the whole story, but I…may have ended up going a bit overboard, so this story is a bit long, and I had to split it up into parts. I hope you enjoy the first chapter, as well as the rest of the story, soon to come! I hope you have an amazing birthday and week and month and year <3 A huge thanks to Bekki for beta reading this!!

You had met Koganegawa Kanji in your third year of high school. At that time, you just saw him as a very tall, very large, and very, _very_ , excitable boy who needed your help. You really never could have imagined how offering to help one boy would have completely changed your life.

It had all begun a few weeks after third year started. You were working hard on your studies every night, doing all you could to get good grades and ace the entrance exam of your preferred university so you could get in. Although it had been a long and tiring process back then, all your studying did have some benefits. You soon became well known for doing very well in school, achieving some of the top spots in the last second year exams, and your teachers were very optimistic on your chances of getting into your dream school. So, even if you sometimes missed the more carefree days you’d shared with your friends, you’d reminded yourself that soon your hard work would pay off. Still…still, you couldn’t help but miss hanging out with people instead of textbooks.

And that’s when a friend of yours approached you, asking for help.

Your friend was also close friends with Moniwa Kaname, the captain of the boys’ volleyball team, and they had a bit of a problem.

They had a very promising new first year setter, and Moniwa was hoping said new setter could become a starting member of the new team once the third years retired.

There was just one problem: this incredible first year was working so hard at practicing his volleyball skills that he had ended up neglecting his studies. He’d only been at school a few weeks but his current grades were so bad that he was at risk of being thrown off the team if it continued. His parents and teachers were very unhappy with him starting his high school career like this, so this was the deal: if this first-year wanted to stay on the team, he needed a tutor.

Someone who did well in their own studies, so there was no worry of their grades falling while they were helping him, wasn’t in a team or club that took up all of their time, and would be willing to spend evenings and the occasional day of their weekend helping this troubled first-year.

Well, hey, why not? You spent the majority of your time studying anyways, and doing it with someone else would be a nice change of pace! Not to mention it would feel good to be able to help someone out, maybe even make a new friend…

In fact, you could feel something warm in your chest, and you couldn’t help but think this was…meant to be.

So you and your friend went to meet Moniwa, and you agreed to tutor his new setter, much to the captain’s delight. He asked you to meet the setter after school, just before their practice started, to arrange a time for your first tutoring session. You agreed, trying to hide how excited you were to meet your new student. And when Moniwa told you the boy’s name, you felt that strange warmth in your chest once more.

Koganegawa Kanji. Your future student’s name was Koganegawa Kanji.

Just when your high school career was coming to an end, you found yourself at the beginning of something special.

—-

“Shit shit shit! I’m late!” You cry, as you run down the hallway. You see a teacher turn the corner and you quickly drop your pace into a harried fast walk. The teacher stares at you oddly as they pass, but the moment they’re out of sight you immediately get back into a run.

You hadn’t meant to be so late! In fact, class had ended a few minutes early, and you were happy that you’d be able to leave with plenty of time. But your English teacher had stopped you just as you were about to exit the classroom, wanting to congratulate you on what he called one of the best essays he’d ever read from his students. You’d worked hard on that essay for weeks, so you’d been happy to receive his praise and thanked him enthusiastically. But as he continued talking, you couldn’t help but get a bit jittery. Time was ticking by, and while you didn’t want to interrupt a teacher, you really needed to get going. And by the time you’d managed to delicately extricate yourself from the conversation, you were already a few minutes late.

Continuing to curse under your breath, you finally skid to a stop just as you nearly miss the corner to the hallway leading to the gym, the hallway you were to meet Koganegawa. You inhale desperately, trying to catch your breath, smoothing down your rumpled uniform to look as presentable as possible as you walk down the hallway.

“Well, at least I’m not the only one late.” You breathe a sigh of relief. There’s no one in the hallway but a tall third year, looking around anxiously and probably waiting to see if the girls’ volleyball team was going to walk by, as was a particular hobby of many of your classmates.

You lean against the wall opposite the gym door, panting slightly as your heart slowly stops beating like a drum in a dryer. You push your hair back, trying to smooth it down before meeting him. You’re about to pull your phone out to check the time, when you suddenly feel a tap on your shoulder.

You look up, and suddenly see the large third-year towering over you.

Now, you’re not exactly short for a girl, but this boy? He’s so tall the top of your head doesn’t even reach his chin. Not to mention he’s got a large body, with a broad chest and well-muscled arms. He’d probably look intimidating if it weren’t for his shy expression, cute face, and tuft of black hair just above his forehead which reminds you of a baby bird for some reason. You’re beginning to wonder why you’ve never noticed this fellow third-year before, when he speaks up.

“Uh…excuse me, but are you waiting for someone?” He asks timidly.

“Oh! Yes, sorry. I’m waiting for a first-year student who I’m going to tutor.” You reply sweetly. “I was a little late, unfortunately…” You pause suddenly, looking up at him in alarm as something occurs to you. “Did you see a first-year boy here? He didn’t already leave, did he!?”

You don’t even attempt to hide the panic in your voice, as you stand up straight. But as you look back at the third year, you see him breathe a sigh of relief, and give you a smile so bright you’re momentarily broken out of your panic. Then, he says your name, bending down slightly to look you in the eye, and you’re back to stunned surprise.

“How do you know m—” You pause, as realization slowly dawns on you. Slowly, unsurely, you continue. “K—Koganegawa Kanji?!”

“Yes! That’s me!” He cries out exuberantly, pointing his index fingers at his joyful face excitedly. “I’m Koganegawa Kanji! Call me Koganegawa-kun!”

You’re trying not to stare at him in disbelief but it’s difficult. He was a _first-year_?! He was huge! Even though he had a cute face…

“Senpai! It’s so great to meet you!” He says, almost yelling in his excitement. You blink, trying to recover as he snaps you out of your thoughts, and try to sputter out an answer.

“Y—Yeah! It’s nice to meet you too, Koganegawa-kun.” You stammer. You hold out your hand, a gesture as you’re about to start a proper introduction to yourself, and Koganegawa misunderstands as he grabs and shakes it so enthusiastically that your entire body wobbles. You wonder if this if a by-product of his very sport-centric life, maybe hand-shaking with the senior volleyball team members after practice games is something he got so used to he does it automatically now. Even when he stops shaking your hand, his warm, strong hands continue to grasp yours tightly, so excited he looks like he’s shaking.

“Senpai—Senpai is going to be my tutor!” He beams. “I’m going to work really hard! I promise, I’ll do my best and improve my grades with Senpai!”

You take a moment to take his words in, and then you begin to laugh. You give him a bright smile of your own.

“I’ll hold you to that, Koganegawa-kun.” You say playfully. You give your hand a short tug, and Koganegawa lets them go immediately, his entire face turning red as he tries to sputter an apology.

“With your scores, you’re going to have to work very hard.” You wink at him, using your free hand to shoot him a finger gun, making his face turn an even brighter red. “But your Senpai is going to help you, and make sure they go up. _And_ stay there.” You promise him seriously.

“S—S—Senpai!” He splutters. He looks so happy; you can see the beginnings of tears at the corner of his eyes. “T—Thank you!”

“W—well…” You run your hand through your hair, suddenly feeling a bit bashful. “I’m your tutor, so I’m here to help you.” You pause, and smile up at him. “And this way, you can stay on the volleyball team, and, someday, I can watch you play.”

It’s like you lit a fire under Koganegawa.

“Yes! Senpai! I’ll work really hard so I can play, and you—you’ll cheer for me?!” He cries out. Well, looks like you didn’t have to worry about not getting along with your student.

“I sure will.” You smile happily. When he looked at you with that cute face, there was no way you could ever say no. “But! Before that, you have to improve your grades. So, worry about that first!”

Koganegawa nods excitedly. “I will! I’ll work really hard Senpai!” He declares.

You laugh, and from the corner of your eye you see Moniwa’s mop of black curls pop out from the gym door. He looks a bit shy, like he’s not sure if he should interrupt but he really needs to.

“Ah! Sorry, sorry!” You apologise, waving at Moniwa. Koganegawa jumps as he catches sight of his captain, immediately sputtering out his own apologies.

“I’m sorry, I was late, and I kept him here.” You put your palms together in a praying motion, asking for forgiveness. “Just one more minute, and I’ll return him to you, I promise.”

Moniwa nods, looking relieved, and thanks you again before he pulls his head back in.

You turn back to Koganegawa, who’s still staring at you with wide eyes.

“Are you free tomorrow? I know it’s the weekend, but we’ll need some extra time to go over all your classes and see where you need help the most, and where your problem studying areas are.” You tell him, quickly going into ‘business’ mode.

Koganegawa nods, trying to match your seriousness. “Yes, of course, for however long you need me!” He states.

“Good! You can come over to my house.” You say, giving him the address. He’s staring at you with wide eyes, and you repeat it again, slower, in case he missed it. “Come at around lunchtime. Bring all your homework, notes, and textbooks.”

“S—Senpai’s house?” He says nervously. Suddenly, he looks anxious, the tips of his ears turning red.

“Would you rather your house?” You shrug. “It doesn’t matter to me, personally, but my house is pretty quiet, and well-equipped for studying.”

“S—Senpai’s house is fine!” Koganegawa yells suddenly, making you almost jump at the unexpected noise. His face is definitely very red now, but you need to leave so you decide to let it go for now.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow, Koganegawa-kun.” You say kindly, as you turn to leave, waving goodbye to him over your shoulder. “Have a good practice!”

“Th—Thank you Senpai!” He calls out behind you.

You’re just about to round the corner when you hear him calling your name, and you turn.

“Senpai…” He stares back at you, his hands balled into fists as he gives you the most determined expression you’ve ever seen.

“I meant it! I’ll work really hard, improve my grades, and become part of the starters! So—So please cheer for me when that time comes!” He cries out.

You blink in surprise, and then give him your bright smile again.

“I look forward to it, Koganegawa-kun.” You say affectionately. His face turns red again, and you just laugh as you turn the corner and leave, already excited for tomorrow.


	2. Lesson Number One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of the story! We still have a ways to go though~ By the way, I should probably have mentioned this in the first part, but I made the Reader and Koganegawa are senpai and kouhai because of a wonderful drawing by the wonderful shoucheeky, who very kindly also let me write a drabble to accompany that awesome picture (which can be found on my tumblr or at shoucheekydraws on tumblr)! Please check it out! I hope you enjoy~

You flip through the papers in your hand, going over them forthe third time. You’re watchful eyes pass over every inch of them, each a test or assignment that Koganegawa had been graded on. Since school has barely started the stack in your hands is relatively light, but they’re very useful in showing you where Koganegawa’s problems lie.

The first thing you notice is that Koganegawa is actually quite sharp, and he understands the material pretty well. The answers he puts down are pretty detailed and have a fair amount of thought put into them. The problem is the vast majority of the time that he writes those good answers, they’re in response to a question complete different from the one actually being _asked_.

It had quickly become apparent that Koganegawa rushed through everything, often times not reading the question completely and either putting in an answer that is half right (or only answers half of the question) or starts writing about a subject completely different from the one being asked about. That’s not to mention that his writing is hurried and sloppy, and had he lost many marks just from what he was writing being completely illegible.

There are a few subjects that he’s obviously misunderstanding, as well as some questions he clearly can’t remember what the answer is or how to arrive at it. Still, he tries his best on every question, even ones where he clearly has no idea what to put. His determination and refusal to give up impresses you, and gives you very high hopes for his future grades.

You finally look up to see Koganegawa anxiously squirming in his seat. He’d become…relatively calm, at least compared to when he first arrived.

The moment he’d stepped into your house, less than an hour ago now, he’d practically been bouncing with excitement and seemed to have no control over the volume of his voice. You’d heard so many shouts of “Senpai!”, among a long string of non-stop questions about your home and family, that you had to sit him down and gently (but firmly) tell him he needed to calm himself if you were going to get anything done. He’d agreed, nodding his head enthusiastically as you could see how determined he was to stay quiet.

He really did try his best at everything.

It had obviously unnerved him when he entered your room though. He’d stood in the hallway just outside your bedroom door for a full minute after you entered, blushing bright red as he stared into your room. You’d looked around, wondering if you’d missed cleaning up something and had a stray piece of underwear around, but there was nothing like that to be seen.

It was then that he suddenly piped up that he’d never been in a girl’s room before, at least not one that belonged to someone outside of his family. You couldn’t help but laugh, although you’d quickly covered it up, as you grabbed his arm and gently (but once again, firmly) pulled his large body into your room. He’d stumbled as he stepped in, clearly still nervous. You’d led him over to a table low to the ground, with some soft pillows as seats. You’d sat down across from him, setting out all the supplies, as he looked around anxiously. You wish you could have said something that might have calmed him down, but you needed some quiet time to go through his tests anyways, so letting him stare wide-eyed and silent at a bottle of body lotion on your dresser (even though his face was so red you could practically feel the heat emanating from your seat across from him) seemed to be a fair choice.

Now, you put the papers in your hand down and pick up a few pages from the large pile of notes Koganegawa had given you. Just glancing quickly, you can see that he writes good notes and pays attention…some of the time. There are some large gaps in material, and they also coincide with Koganegawa writing down what you can only assume are volleyball attack names (‘two attack’ was a particular favourite of his) and ideas for cool new moves he could try.

Still, ‘pay more attention in class’ is a lot easier to help him with than ‘actually start paying attention in class instead of imagining what bra the girl in front of you is wearing’, an issue your friend had with her also a first year brother.

“Okay!” You say loudly, and Koganegawa jumps in his seat.

“SHOWER!” He yells out loud in response. You’re both silent for a few moments as you try to understand what he means. Meanwhile, Koganegawa looks horrified, his hands balled into tight fists and pressed strongly against his thighs.

“Um…maybe wait until you go home, Koganegawa-kun?” You say gently. “After all, we still have some work to do…”

“N—No, I didn’t mean—! I—I…er…” Koganegawa stammers as his face turns even redder than before, and he hunches down in his seat like he wants the ground to swallow him up. You feel a bit bad for him (it’s not easy for a boy over six feet to make himself look that small), so you scootch over, pulling your little pillow with you, so you can sit beside him. You smile as you pat his arm, trying to comfort him. It doesn’t seem to help in calming him down, but he does look a little less depressed.

“Don’t be nervous, Koganegawa-kun. The problems you have with your schoolwork aren’t that difficult to fix, and I promised I’d help you, right?” You say softly. This seems to help, and Koganegawa’s colour starts to go back to normal as he looks down at you beside him.

“T—Thank you, Senpai.” He says quietly. Your words must have really been helping, since that was the quietest voice you’d ever heard him use.

You begin to explain all the issues you’d seen, while Koganegawa hurriedly writes down notes, nodding untiringly after every point you make. You try not to think about how cute he is, looking so determined and studious at the same time. It’s a short explanation, but Koganegawa looks like he’s hanging off of your every word.

“So, in short, you really only have a few problem areas, and they’re not too difficult to fix. You understand the material well. However,” you pause, and look at him seriously. “The material gets harder throughout the year, and it often builds on the material before it. If you don’t understand something, it’s very important that you ask questions, and have someone explain it to you. If you’re too nervous to talk to your teacher, than talk to me. Okay?”

“Understood!” Koganegawa replies excitedly, giving you a strong, firm nod of acknowledgement.

“Good.” You say, giving him a bright smile. “So, are you ready to begin?”

“Yes, Senpai!” Koganegawa grins happily. “Always ready!”

“Alright, then let’s go!”

—-

“Ah! Good job, Koganegawa-kun!” You exclaim cheerfully, clapping your hands. “That was a tough one, and you answered it perfectly.”

“T—Thanks.” Koganegawa replies sheepishly as he shyly rubs the back of his neck. His ears are red, and you can tell he’s really happy to be praised.

“Don’t be shy. You worked hard, you should be proud!” You encourage him. He’s still looking down, blushing, and the black spikes of his hair are sticking up haphazardly. You can’t help yourself, and affectionately pet his hair.

“Good job, Koganegawa-kun.” You say softly.

“T—THANK YOU SENPAI!” He yells so loudly you jump, nearly falling on your back. You stare at him as your hand retreats, and he can only look back at you in embarrassment. You gaze him in surprise, and then laugh.

“You’re welcome, Koganegawa-kun.” You say, straightening up. Koganegawa smiles in relief, looking down at you appreciatively. It almost seems as if he’s very happy that his over-enthusiasm doesn’t seem to annoy or upset you at all. He nods joyfully, and you watch him contentedly as he immediately goes back to his homework, his brow furrowing in concentration as he continues to work hard.

When he focuses, he really can do wonders. Although he still makes a few mistakes, not always able to understand what to do, he never hesitates to ask you, and you make sure to explain everything to him thoroughly. Soon, he’s getting almost every question correct. You congratulate him each time, encouraging him, but each time he just seems to get even more anxious, fidgeting and staring at you meaningfully. Finally, when you confirm he got one of the most difficult questions right, he blurts out what he wants before you can even praise him again.

“S—Senpai! C—Can you do—do it again?” He stammers eagerly. You blink in confusion, and then he slightly tilts his head down. He’s looking away, his face tinged with dark red, as he squirms anxiously in his seat. He looks so shy and hopeful and sweet, you can’t help but feel a warm, happy feeling in your chest at how incredibly cute he is.

You understand what he wants you to do.

“Mmm…Koganegawa-kun, you must not get this a lot, because you’re so tall, hmm?” You tease him, as you once again pat and ruffle his hair affectionately. He gives a small nod, still not looking at you as his entire face turns a bright red. When you pull your head back slightly, he immediately pushes his head forward, not wanting you to stop.

“Pfft!” You have to stifle your laughter, and you can see that even his ears are red by now, but he’s still very happily enjoying being pet. Still, you have work to do, and after a few moments you pull your hand back. Koganegawa tries to follow with his head, and ends up overbalancing and falling on his side on the floor.

“Hey, you still need to work hard.” You tell him, sighing. You try to sound stern, but it’s a lost cause. Looking down at him, as he blinks up at you innocently from the floor, you can only think about how ridiculous it is that someone twice your size and a head taller than you is cute enough to have you make the same smile you normally reserve for when you see a baby animal.

“Remember? You want me to cheer for you.” You rest your chin in the palm of your hand as you rest your elbow on the table, looking down at him. “I want to watch you play volleyball, Koganegawa-kun, but I won’t be able to do so if your grades don’t improve and you’re thrown off the team. You can’t relax yet.”

Koganegawa immediately sits back up, nodding indomitably.

“Yes, Senpai! I promise you’ll get to see me play! I’ll work really hard!” Koganegawa promises. You grin, and he immediately returns your bright smile.

For the next few hours, Koganegawa really puts his all into studying. He asks questions, works hard, and puts all his determination and drive into learning the material. However, you can see the sun is slowly starting to set, and so you finally tap Koganegawa on the shoulder. He looks up at you in surprise, his head tilted slightly in confusion.

“I think that’s enough for today, Koganegawa-kun. We can continue next week.” You say, pulling your hand back to start cleaning up the papers on the table in front of you.

“Senpai! Please, just one more hour!” He asks you desperately, holding his hands together in a begging motion. You shake your head, and then lean back to stretch your tired limbs. You looks back to see Koganegawa staring away from you suddenly, his ears bright red, and you frown.

“Don’t be mad.” You say, flicking on of his black spikes of hair gently and making him jump. You sigh, and slowly rock to your feet, stretching your legs. “It’s getting dark already. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

“N—No!” Koganegawa shakes his head, standing up quickly. “I couldn’t let you walk back home alone! So I’d have to escort you back! Although, if you really wanted to see my house, I would definitely—”

You shake your head, putting your hands up in surrender.

“No, that’s fine, Koganegawa-kun. I’ll let you walk home on your own, in that case.” You let out a long exhale, putting your hands on your hips as you look at with an odd mixture of exasperation and affection.

He really is something else.

“Please send me a message when you get home, so I know you arrived safely.” You tell him sternly. He nods enthusiastically, and then suddenly pauses.

“But…ah, Senpai I don’t have…” He pauses, looking down at the phone you’re now holding in your hand before him.

“Here, you can put your number in here.” You say, as you hand it to him. He wastes no time in stuffing his into your hands, and you exchange numbers before you help him collect his things and walk him to your front door.

“Have a nice walk home Koganegawa-kun. Please be safe! And remember to go over the material that you were having trouble with today, alright?” You say, as you hold the door open for him.

“Right! Thank you, Senpai!” He says, flashing you an enthusiastic smile and a thumbs up.

He really is too cute.

“…You worked very hard today, Koganegawa-kun. I think if you continue working like this, you’ll have some of the best grades in your class.” You tell him, patting his shoulder assuredly.

“…Thank you.” He respond softly. He’s uncharacteristically quiet, and at first you’re worried. But he’s smiling at you, looking at you with a strange expression in his eyes. There are a few moments of silence before he coughs, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly before he turns away and runs out the door.

“Goodbye, Senpai! I can’t wait for next week!” He cries over his shoulder, as he disappears down the street. You stare at his fleeting form in surprise, and then shake your head, laughing pleasantly as you close your door.

 

_Ten Minutes later…_

You’re just doing some studying of your own when your phone buzzes. You pick it up, and laugh as you read the message.

_“Senpai, thank you very much for today! You’re a great teacher! I’m so happy you’re my tutor! Please continue to treat me well!!!”_

And then, a moment after you finish reading it, your phone buzzes in your hands again.

_“Oh, and I got home safely Senpai! I ran all the way home, so I could message you quickly and you wouldn’t worry! Have a good night Senpai!”_

You smile, as you put down your book to message him back.


	3. All Good Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: -SWEATS NERVOUSLY- This is so, so late I’m sorry ;v; On the bright side, you know I haven’t forgotten about it! :D Anyways, so a fair amount happens in this part~ Hope you enjoy!

The weeks and months are fun, a whirlwind of laughter and smiles and gentle head pats, but they pass much too quickly. Koganegawa comes to your house so many times he practically becomes a part of your family, frequently staying for dinner at your family’s insistence. He even stopped getting anxious in your room, although he does always smile and turn a little flushed when he sees the stuffed dog plushy he bought you for Christmas sitting on your bed.

 

You go to his games too, although he’s really only been allowed to play in practice games. He was…a bit uncoordinated, it was true, and you could see that he still needed some training and time to mesh with the rest of his team, but there was no doubt he had incredible talent and drive to improve. He was already something special, and you could tell he was only going to grow stronger. You had ended up becoming quite the volleyball fan yourself, cheering loudly every time Koganegawa jumped and blocked a powerful spike, or when he set the ball so high the other team couldn’t hope to reach it when his teammates, especially the equally tall and well-built Aone, spiked it to the ground.

 

It’s after one of these games, late in the afternoon, that you take him out for a congratulatory dinner of katsudon. He was so excited about winning the game, and talking about how amazing and cool his senpais were, that he’d only stopped talking to eat (and only then because you’d scolded him, fearing he’d end up choking if he tried to do both at the same time). It was only when you were walking home he began to calm down, and you could get a word in.

 

“So, Koganegawa-kun, I hear your grades have really improved.” You smile, gently bumping into him. His face flushes slightly.

 

“D—Did my mom tell you?” He asks unsurely, and you laugh.

 

“She sent me a thank you gift basket. It was lovely.” You reply sweetly. Koganegawa gives a low groan, putting his head in his hands, and you laugh again.

 

“But…” You pause, turning a bit more serious, as you look up at him. “I’m very happy you’re grades have gone up. You’ve worked very hard, and I’m proud of you.”

 

“T—Thank you, Senpai…” Koganegawa responds, his face turning red right up to the tip of his ears. He looks away, and takes a deep breath. He looks like he wants to say something to you, and he’s oddly subdued…you wonder if…

 

“Hey Koganegawa-kun.” You say gently, giving him a soft smile. “Soon, you might not need study sessions at all! You can spend you nights doing something more fun than studying with m—”

 

“NO!”

 

You jump, startled by Koganegawa’s frantic cry, and the fact he’s jumped in front of you. You quickly stop walking (before you run right into him), and look up at him quizzically. His face is bright red and he looks almost heartbroken as he stares down at you.

 

“T—There’s no way! I definitely still need you, Senpai!”

 

There’s so much conviction behind his words, you can only blink in surprise, too stunned to say anything in return.

 

“…I think our study sessions are fun…” He murmurs under his breath, looking down almost dejectedly. You feel a twinge of guilt…you’d certainly never meant to upset him.

 

“Hey, cheer up!” You exclaim, as you throw your arm around him, or rather you try to, and end up having to settle for resting your hand on his shoulder. You flash him your brightest smile.

 

“I really enjoy our study sessions too. So! For as long as you want to spend afternoons going over math and science and whatever else in my room, I’m happy to help!” You laugh.

 

Well, Koganegawa’s face is still flushed, but he looks much happier.

 

“R—Really…” Koganegawa stammers. “I—I’d like that Senpai…”

 

You laugh, and start to walk forward again, and Koganegawa immediately follows after you.

 

“Remember, as your Senpai, I’ll be here to help as long as you need me.” You call over your shoulder. You laugh, enjoying the cool night air and the warm, happy feeling you always got from being with your excitable, always honest kohai.

 

The only thing you miss is the adoring, love struck way he looks at you.

 

—

 

“What’s wrong, Koganegawa-kun?”

 

You frown, as you look up at Koganegawa, who sits next to you with a listless expression. 

 

He’d been acting like this ever since he’d arrived, completely different from his usual cheerful self. Instead of answering, he just looks away, and doesn’t say anything.

 

You’d expected him to be happy! After all, this had been the first time in a while you’d been able to meet for a study session. You’d had to take a break for a while in order to focus entirely on studying for your university entrance exams. You’d been ecstatic to learn you’d gotten into your first choice school, a prestigious and far away university, and had immediately called and invited Koganegawa over to celebrate…and do some extra studying with him, since his end of the year exams were quickly approaching.

 

But now…he hadn’t looked this dejected since he’d lost against Aobajousai…

 

You frown, as he still doesn’t answer you. Slowly, you raise your hands, and gently rub his head over his spikes of black hair, just as you always did. It always managed to cheer him up before, after all. Your fingertips gently dance over his hair, and he finally looks up at you from the corner of his eye, his expression still heartbreakingly sad.

 

For a moment, he stays still, and then suddenly his arms are wrapped around you, his face buried into your chest as he holds you so tightly it almost hurts. His body is so heavy with muscle, not to mention his natural bulk, that you’d almost certainly fall to the floor if he wasn’t keeping you upright with his iron grip.

 

You make a small squeak of surprise, but before you can say anything, you hear Koganegawa sniffling loudly. You feel something wet on your shirt, and you realise he’s crying.

 

“Don’t go!” He cries out, his voice muffled by your body.

 

You feel your heart ache from the raw, honest pain in his voice. Gently, you put your arms around him, slowly running your right hand up the large expanse of his back, before you continue to affectionately stroke his hair.

 

“Please, please don’t go!” He pleads. “I…can’t stand thinking about you leaving…”

 

He’s actually begging you not to go. But as much as it hurts you to see him in so much pain, you know you can’t stay. You have to keep moving forward, like everyone does. And part of that moving forward includes leaving to go to university.

 

“…I’ll come back. I promise.” You murmur softly, trying to comfort him. It’s actually kind of cute…a huge, hulking boy like Koganegawa, being comforted by his much smaller senpai. Or it would be, if he wasn’t so heartbreakingly sad.

 

After a few long moments, Koganegawa sniffles once more before pulling away slightly.

 

“S—Sorry…I went overboard again…” He murmurs, still looking completely and utterly dejected.

 

“It’s okay.” You reply, looking down at him sympathetically. “Honestly…I’m going to miss you a lot too. You’re my—my precious kouhai after all…Ah?”

 

Your surprised noise comes as you feel tears quickly running down your cheeks. You try to laugh, but it comes out more as a choked sob.

 

“I’m…really going to miss you…” You whisper softly.

 

Just then, you feel Koganegawa’s hands tightly grasp your face. Your eyes dart up to his, wide with surprise, your tears running down the contours of his palm on your cheek, and you only get to see his completely and utterly resolute expression before he leans forward and presses his lips hard against yours.

 

You stay completely still, your body frozen with surprise. He’s kissing you. You have no idea what to do, and all you can concentrate on is…

 

Koganegawa pulls back suddenly, looking extremely nervous. Clearly, you’re complete lack of response unnerved him.

 

“I’m s—sorry! I—I thought—!!!” Before he can finish his attempt to stammer out an apology, you grab his large, powerful shoulders, and pull him back to you. You press your lips against his this time, closing your eyes slowly. Koganegawa makes a surprised noise into your mouth, but quickly, and very happily, starts to kiss you back. His hands, trembling with excitement, slowly run down your body to rest on your waist. You move closer to him, completely losing yourself in how good the kiss feels.

 

It’s only a few moments later, when Koganegawa lets out a long, low groan into your mouth, that you realise what a terrible decision this is. You pull back immediately, your eyes flying open as you look down at him in shock.

 

“No…I…I—I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that….I shouldn’t have done that, oh shit…” You hold your head in your hands, standing up as you begin to pace back and forth. “That was so inappropriate, what the hell was I thinking?!”

 

“Um…”

 

The sudden sound makes you turn to look at Koganegawa, who’s looking up at you in confusion.

 

“Di—Did you dislike it?” He asks nervously, tilting his head slightly.

 

“No, I did like it.” You groan, running your hands through your hair. “That’s the problem.”

 

Koganegawa looks even more confused, tilting his head to the other side. You sigh, and begin to explain.

 

“I’m your senpai. Your tutor. I’m—I’m two years older than you!” You cry out.

 

“So?! Two years won’t matter when we’re marrie—I mean, older!” Koganegawa replies just as passionately. His face grows even more flushed, and you run your hands through your hair anxiously again.

 

As your pacing takes you past the table, Koganegawa raises his hand and grabs your arm gently, but firmly.

 

“Please…listen to me! I—I have something to say!” He cries out. “Something really important!”

 

You pause, and then slowly sit down beside him again. You can’t even look him in the eye.

 

He grabs your face again, and turns you to look at him. That same absolutely determined expression is on his face again, as he opens his mouth.

 

“I love you, Senpai!”


	4. Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Mary!!! Since my gift to you is going to be late this year, I wanted to at least give you a little something for the holiday season. This is the last of the main chapters, and I hope you’ve been enjoying the story so far and will enjoy it’s ending too~

_…_ _“I love you, Senpai!”  …_

 

 

“I—I love you more than anyone! I loved you the moment we met, and—and I want to be with you no matter what!” Koganegawa continues, crying out fervently, while you stare at him in complete and utter disbelief.

Your heart is beating wildly against your chest, and your face flushes at the sudden cool air as Koganegawa moves his hands, which had been firmly holding your face, down to clutch your own hands tightly. You can feel him shaking, and you can see the raw passion in his eyes.

He truly means what the words he speaks. There is not a hint of doubt in his voice.

“I can’t stand to see you go, Senpai. Every time I think of you leaving…” He grits his teeth, looking as if he was trying not to cry again. Your heart aches, and he looks away for a moment.

“But!” He cries out suddenly, causing you to jump slightly, as he looks back down at you. “I—I’m going to work really really hard, so I can get into the same university when I’m a third year like Senpai! Then—then we can be together again. It’s going to take some time but…I’m going to hurry and grow up, so you can look at me as a man, and not just a kouhai! A man…a man you can be proud to be with!”

Your mouth hangs open in shock, as all you can do is stare at him. There’s so much you want to say, and yet it’s like you’ve suddenly forgotten how to talk. All of your thoughts are jumbled up in a mess, and only one remains truly clear.

Koganegawa Kanji…is someone who truly tries his best at everything he does, and gives everything he has into doing so. He is someone who never gives up.

“I—I…” You pause, as the words come slowly to you. Koganegawa’s eyes are wide open as they stare fervently at you. He looks very nervous about what you’re about to say next…and to be honest, you feel much the same.

You have a feeling these words will have serious consequences…consequences which will affect you and Koganegawa for many years to come.

But, as you told yourself before, you have to keep moving forward. No matter how scary it might be.

“I…would really like that. I care about you too, Koganegawa-kun.” You stammer, feeling your face flush even further. You take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. You look away, and your voice quiets to a soft whisper. “I…care about you a lot.”

There’s a long silence, as neither of you look at the other. When you glance at him from the corner of your eye however, you see that Koganegawa looks so happy; he doesn’t look as if he can even speak, and you’re much the same.

“We…we should probably get back to work. I mean…we both still have a long way to go, right?” You say suddenly, trying to give a light laugh and break the awkward tension. You also hope that getting back to studying may give your heart some time to calm down.

“Y—Yes!!” He cries out, smiling happily at you. After a moment of him staring and doing nothing else, you gently pull your hands back, and he lets them go suddenly as his face flushes an even brighter red. He makes no motion to move back to his seat on the other side of the table, and seems very happy just being near you. Then, he looks at you, as if thinking about something, and slowly, nervously, starts to lean forwards…

“And! I won’t kiss you again…not until you achieve your goal, Koganegawa-kun.” You say sternly, wagging your finger at him. But you also give him a small smile, trying not to laugh as his dejected expression reveals you were correct about his previous intentions. And yet Koganegawa never let anything get him down for long (another quality of his you greatly appreciated) and he returned your smile with a strong nod.

And finally, after everything that had just happened, the two of you actually got back to work. It’s…difficult to completely focus on your studies, and it’s obvious things have changed. Despite your stern work ethic, you catch yourself affectionately looking up at him from the corner of your eyes.

Suddenly he looks back at you, and you nearly jump, as if you’ve been caught doing something wrong. But Koganegawa just smiles brightly as you, and you swear it’s as warm as the sun on a cool day. It’s as if his absolute joy is infectious, and you feel your face heat up. Your heart beats like crazy again, and you’re so distracted you don’t realise what he’s planning until his fingers thread together with yours under the table. He holds your hand tightly as he looks down shyly.

“Holding hands is okay though…right?” He asks, and you swear your heart is going to go into overdrive. You can’t even say anything…you just blush and nod in response, quickly turning back to your work.

And so, as you both continue working into the night, and you enjoy the warmth and strength of Koganegawa’s slightly shaking hand, you can only wonder what happy surprises the future days will bring the two of you…or, rather, what happy surprises Koganegawa will bring your future days.

\---

“Jeez…he’s so lucky. I wish the weather was this nice when I graduated.” You sigh loudly, holding a hand over your eyes to block out the glare from the brightly shining sun.

The sky was a beautiful light blue, there was a cool, gentle breeze, and the air was pleasantly warm. It was a day that perfectly matched the joyful occasion, and the happiness of the many students celebrating their graduation.

On the day of your graduation, you’d had to dodge rain! Although Koganegawa had gotten you an umbrella and walked you everywhere you’d wanted to go, making sure that you were always dry, even if his natural bulk meant his shoulder didn’t always get covered…in fact, his arm had gotten soaked! And of course he didn’t mind, and even when you worried about him getting sick, he’d just beamed happily and said “that just means Senpai will make me soup, right?” and you’d laughed until you teared up.

Ah, memories…

“Mmm…this place never changes.” You smile wistfully, as you pass through the open gates of your old high school. Excited students mill about, some exchanging buttons, others taking pictures with their friends and certificates…they’re so excited, they barely pay any attention to the university student who walks through their campus with a calm ease. You know exactly where you’re going, after all.

He’d asked you to meet him in the back of the school, where there wouldn’t be many, if any, other people around.

As you airily walk to your destination, you give a small smile, remembering the events of your first meeting with him…how you were running so hard to make up for being late your heart and legs felt like it was on fire. How you’d first mistook Koganegawa for someone far older, and only realised your mistake when he’d exuberantly pointed at himself and told you his name. How his tuft of black hair looked so cute.

Well, not everything changed.

As you round the corner you could see him pacing, obviously nervous as his movements are quick and jerky. He hasn’t seen you just yet, and you’re glad. It still takes you a few moments to get used to seeing him, even after all this time.

Koganegawa, now eighteen, was even taller and bulkier than when you’d first met him. He absolutely towered over you (and most other people as well), and he had to get a whole new wardrobe last year because the sleeves of his old shirts had ripped due to being unable to handle the girth of his arms (and he could still manage to rip some of his newer one if he got excited enough, which wasn’t uncommon either). And yet, no matter how tall and strong and fierce Koganegawa looked, he still had that same hair. That same tuft of black that he loved you to pet and play with.

“You’re going to wear out the grass if you keep doing that.” You laugh, scolding him playfully. He stops immediately, spinning around to look at you. The joy on his face was instant, and in a moment he’s running towards you. You don’t even have time to say anything before he sweeps you off your feet, his powerful hands holding your waist as he swings you round and round. You laugh joyfully, your hair whipping around your face as you grab onto his shoulders. You can feel your body flying through the air, and the secureness of Koganegawa holding you means you’re not afraid he’ll drop you for a second.

“Hey, you’re gonna get me dizzy!!!” You laugh breathlessly, and Koganegawa grins as he finally lets your feet touch the ground again. Of course he’s not done, and he quickly wraps his arms around you and gives you an exuberant bear hug. Thankfully, you know to always take a deep breath before he gives you one of these. And, well, after.

His excitability is another thing that never changes, thankfully.

“Congratulations on your graduation, Koganegawa-kun…and on getting into my—well, I guess it’s now _our_ university.” You commend him, once you’ve caught your breath. Even if you wanted to, it was impossible to keep the pride and happiness out of your voice, and you smile brightly at him as you continue.

“You really can do anything you put your mind too! It’s really amazing…”

“You’re the amazing one, Senpai!!!” He cries out in response. By now, you don’t even jump at his sudden yelling. Of course, he still always manages to find a way to surprise you…before you can say anything in response, he leans down and presses his lips hard against yours. His lips are so warm, and soft, and bring back memories of that night years ago…the last time Koganegawa had kissed you.

He pulls back, beaming excitedly.

“I did it, Senpai! Now…I promise, I’ll give you everything in the world! Everything! I’m going to—”

He stops in midsentence as you grab the collar of his shirt, and pull him further down to you. You’d made your own promise to him, after all…

You press your lips firmly against his. He makes a small noise of surprise, but quickly tightens his grip around you as he returns your kiss. You can feel him shaking with excitement, pushing his mouth harder against you, so much so that you need to start arching your back backwards to accommodate him. He’s so eager, you know he’s going to overwhelm the both of you.

You open your mouth and let your tongue run over his lower lip, before you pull it back into your mouth and teasingly nibble at his lip. The effect is instantaneous…Koganegawa groans and pants against your mouth. He squirms, even more excited, and you decide to pull back before things get too far out of hand. He always gets riled up so quickly…

Koganegawa moves forward again, trying to follow your lips, and you laugh as you put your hand on his broad chest.

“I suppose I can’t call you Koganegawa-kun now, hmm? How about…Kanji-kun?” You smile, and Koganegawa looks like he’s about to tear up with joy. He’s looking at you with such a gaze of love and adoration, you feel your face flush even further.

Well, he must’ve been waiting a long time to hear you say that…

“I’m so lucky to have you Senpai, I can’t believe it!” He cries out happily.

You laugh, and give him a small, gentle peck on the lips.

“Well, I suppose I have to make up for lost time, don’t I?” You tease him, tugging at his black tuft of hair playfully. He smiles brightly, and you swear he’s going to start jumping around out of joy, or pick you up again.

You gently take his hands in yours, pulling his from your body and holding them tightly in front of you. You look down at them, and smile wistfully.

“I…have made you a promise too, Kanji-kun. I—I want to give you the world too. I always want to see you happy and smiling, just like now…” You whisper softly, gently stroking the back of his large, powerful hands with your thumbs.

There’s a moment of silence, and Koganegawa leans forward to press his warm forehead against yours. You hear him sniff, and you know he’s tearing up.

“Senpai…I love you so much.” He whispers happily. You can hear the raw passion in his words, as you always have when he told you this.

“I love you too, Kanji-kun.” You reply, feeling tears running down your own cheeks. You remember that night years ago, when he’d cried and begged you not to go…

“Kanji-kun, I promise. I promise I won’t leave you again, okay?” You murmur, and before you can continue he quickly speaks up.

“It doesn’t matter, because I’ll climb over mountains and swim seas and do anything to be by your side! I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth!” He lifts his head up, squeezing your hands as he looks at you with that same familiar, fierce look of intense determination.

“I never want to be apart from you again. I want to spend my entire life making you happy.” He finishes, giving you another bright, sunny smile.

“Mmm, is that so?” You smile softly. “Then I’ll have to return the favour.”

You pause for a moment, catching your breath, and you close your eyes for a moment, and then open them before you continue.

“That…sounds really nice, Kanji-kun.”

Still holding one of Kanji’s hands, you slowly pull away from him, gently tugging on his hand as you begin to walk away. The air is getting cooler, and this is a conversation for somewhere much more private. Koganegawa quickly rushes to follow you, face flushing brightly.

…

“S—Senpai, cou—could you walk in front of me?”

As Koganegawa speaks up nervously and settles in closely behind you, you can’t help but laugh and nod.

Always full of surprises, you know that Koganegawa will make your coming days very happy.

And now you will both move forward…together.

Into a future as warm and bright as the sun.


	5. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the final chapter!!! I hope you've all enjoyed it, and to Mary, I'm very glad you liked it and I'm still sorry it was very late! I hope that it still made a good birthday gift even still :) And hey, I've finished just in time for your NEXT birthday! XD Also, for absolute clarity, both characters are a fair amount older than 18 in this part.

You pause, pulling your hair into a ponytail so you can get it off your sweaty neck, and taking another long drink of water. It’s so hot and humid today that the air feels almost heavy against you. Tugging at the neckline of your tank top and trying to fan yourself with your other hand, you exhale loudly, before something catches your eye. In a moment you’ve already pulled out your phone from the tight pocket of your shorts, and you quickly snap a picture. You smile as you look down at it, before your gaze returns upwards.

“Careful Kanji!” You call out, trying not to laugh. Despite the heat, Kanji has been hauling furniture around with complete ease for at least a half hour, and never once lost his excited grin the entire time. The movers had been surprised when you decided not to have them stay longer to help bring everything in…until they laid eyes on Koganegawa Kanji, carrying a sofa by himself.

He was quite literally a one man moving team.

Right now, he was carrying a large, brightly coloured chair that his parents had gifted the two of you in celebration of the move. He looks up at you in surprise, before turning his attention back to his task, his tongue sticking out from the corner of his mouth as he follows your advice and _carefully_ puts the chair down in a corner. The last time he’d nearly overturned the water bowl trying to place a table.

You smile as you watch him run back outside, eager to get more stuff to add to your new home. A loud mewl brings you back to your senses, and you pause to scratch your sweet little kitten, Dateko, behind the ears before you get back to putting up framed pictures on the table.

You and Koganegawa at his entrance ceremony to your university, your first real date, the two of you at a festival with your hands filled with sweets, your graduation, the first big dinner with yours and Koganegawa’s families…and the most recent one, little Dateko curled up in a tiny ball on Koganegawa’s massive chest, which rose and fell with his loud snores, as you, lying beside him, smiled and flashed a peace sign to the camera. You’d taken it just a few nights ago, when the two of you had first arrived in the apartment you were sleeping on a hard, thin mat as you waited for your furniture, and more importantly your bed, to get here.

You’d been so excited about living together with Kanji, really realizing that you were starting your life with him, the love of your life, that you’d slept like a baby that first night, cradled in his strong arms. The second night however…well, that’s when you started feeling the floor, and knew how sore you’d be in the morning. The next day, you and Kanji had gone on a special trip to grab blankets. A lot of blankets.

Now that you finally had a proper bed, all you need is to get the air conditioner working, because at the moment the heat is barely tolerable, and you wake up every morning covered in sweat. You couldn’t even get any of the popsicles from the fridge, since every time you tried to have one Kanji got extremely flustered and ended up dropping things. And when he was handling heavy furniture, and you already had a few dings and dents on the walls and floor, you’d rather not get him too excited.

No, you’d save that for later.

Finally, you put the dog plushy, the one he’d given you the first Christmas you’d known him, right beside one of the first pictures you two had ever taken together: Kanji gleefully holding up his first test since you’d started tutoring him, the two of you pointing at the large ‘80%’ on the front while you both smiled brightly.

“Done!” Kanji declares happily as he jumps back into the apartment, dropping a box by the door as he kicks the door closed behind him. You lean back, trying to read what’s written on the box… it’s either clothes or kitchen supplies or possibly books? You really shouldn’t have let Kanji label the boxes, since you could never really tell what was in them until you actually opened them, but he’d been so excited about the move that he wanted to do absolutely everything to help, and so you hadn’t been able to say no.

Still, next time you were going to have him draw pictures.

Next time…it’s a nice thought, considering your next move would be to a real house (since Kanji had already declared his intention for the two of you to have enough kids to make your own volleyball team…and had continued declaring it since your third official date).

Kanji bounces excitedly towards you, beaming as he stands in front of you expectantly, his eyes practically sparkling. You quirk a brow, the edge of your lips twitching upwards in a smile you were trying to hide. His eyes dart down to where your gentle fingers were rubbing at Dateko’s small ears, the kitten purring loudly, before his gaze met yours again. He shifts around from foot to foot, and you finally start to laugh. After all this time, it never fails to amuse you.

You move your hand away from your kitten, but of course she mewls, so you let out a laboured sigh as one hand goes back to petting her, and the other reaches up to pet and rub Kanji’s hair, making him blush deeply and make a small, contented noise in the back of his throat. You let this go on for a few moments, before you pull your hand back from Dateko, who pads away to go nap by the window.

You laugh again, as you move towards Kanji, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as he automatically leans down to let you do so.

“Seriously, you still like when I play with your hair?” You tease him, giving him a soft smile. Kanji nods excitedly, his strong arms wrapping around you and holding you tightly. You step on his feet to give yourself some extra height, so he doesn’t have to lean down as far. Kanji’s eyes start to sparkle again…he always finds it so cute when you do that.

“You know…now that you’re a man, I can reward you in other ways. So, which one do you _really_ want, Ka—”

“BOTH!” He cries out immediately, and in a moment he’s swept you off your feet, holding you princess style. You’re pressed against his strong, broad chest as his powerful arms hold you securely, letting you know there’s no chance in the world he’d ever drop you or let you go. He’s running off to the bedroom already, so excited he doesn’t even bother walking around the couch, and literally vaults the two of you over it. The side table that he just barely misses hitting wobbles from the tremor as he hits the floor.

Meanwhile, you laugh like you’re never going to stop, and hold onto him tightly…until your back hits the bed, and your hands gently move to his face, your thumbs caressing the skin of his cheek affectionately.

“I love you so much!” He says loudly, beaming.

“I love you so much too, Kanji.” You laugh, returning his bright smile before you press your lips against his, and get lost in the warmth of his embrace.

\---

When you were in your third year of high school, you met a boy.

Koganegawa Kanji, your kohai.

At that time, you just saw him as a very tall, very large, very excitable boy who needed your help.

You really never could have imagined how it would have turned out. But, thankfully, life has a way of surprising you.

And with Koganegawa Kanji, every moment of life was a happy surprise.


End file.
